A charity marking National Heart Month has been helping employees at a Manchester science company learn vital CPR skills.
Staff at Blackley-based Lubrizol were given the opportunity to brush up on life-saving first aid sessions delivered by St John Ambulance – the company’s UK-wide adopted charity.
February has been National Heart Month and charities including St John Ambulance have been raising awareness of heart health and potentially fatal cardiovascular diseases.
Employees at Lubrizol, whose Manchester base is in Hexagon Tower on Crumpsall Vale, said they had learned a lot from the St John Ambulance sessions.
Scientist Dr Shagufta Rafiq said: “I found it very helpful. A defibrillator is easy to use and it’s automated, but obviously you have got emotions kicking in when you’re faced with a real life situation.
“The other factor I found useful to practice was knowing your own strength when you do chest compressions. You can save somebody’s life. You can give something of yourself to that situation. Heart attacks are very common these days. There are so many defibrillators. They’re in shopping centres, they are everywhere.”
Georgia Gleave, of Middleton, who is studying chemistry at Durham University and is on a student placement at Lubrizol, also took part in the session, along with fellow placement student Lewis Inkster, from Bury in Manchester, who is studying chemistry at Liverpool University.
Georgia said: “I think this is a very useful skill to have. Lubrizol has got first aiders but these are skills that are useful in the wider world too. You never know when you could be outside somewhere and finding yourself able to help. This was a very valuable experience.”
Lewis added: “Being able to help contribute to someone’s survival is so important, and that’s why I wanted to learn these skills.”
Figures show that around 49,000 people are living with heart and circulatory diseases in Manchester, and that these diseases cause 80 deaths a month in the city. In North-West England there are around 3,600 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests a year.
Across the UK, more than 30,000 cardiac arrests take place outside of a hospital setting annually. But less than one in ten people survive, often because those around them lack the skills or confidence to perform CPR, or access to a defibrillator.
When someone is in cardiac arrest their heart has stopped beating, and every minute without CPR or defibrillation reduces the chances of survival by up to 10 per cent, while early CPR and defibrillation can more than double survival rates.
Adam Greenwood, community engagement manager for St John Ambulance, said: “We want everyone to have the confidence to know what to do in an emergency, learn first aid and have access to lifesaving devices like defibrillators – so more lives can be saved each year.
“Simple first aid techniques, like recognising a cardiac arrest and starting chest compressions, can really make all the difference in an emergency. We’re so pleased staff at Lubrizol have taken the time to learn these essential lifesaving skills, and we thank them for their continued support towards our charity.”
This story was written and shared on behalf of Lubrizol by Lucy Stephens. Can we share your news and get you in the headlines too? Find out how we can help by getting in touch.
